On a Tuesday morning in Newark, New Jersey, 36-year-old Akbar Muhammad was fatally shot in what police described as a targeted attack. The incident occurred on January 21, 2014, at approximately 11:30 a.m. in the 400 block of Springfield Avenue. Muhammad, a Black man, was sitting in the driver's seat of a parked car when a gunman approached and opened fire. The shooting also claimed the life of another passenger, 28-year-old Shante Spivey of East Orange.
Three other individuals in the vehicle were wounded but survived.
Authorities pronounced Muhammad dead at the scene. He was the son of a prominent and respected imam in Newark. While law enforcement sources indicated that Muhammad was the intended target, a specific motive for the shooting was never publicly released. The brazen daytime shooting in a busy area left the local community shaken. At the time, city leaders expressed their outrage and concern over the escalating violence in Newark, which had seen a significant number of homicides in the preceding year.
Despite the public outcry and an active investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force, no arrests were ever announced in connection with the murders of Akbar Muhammad and Shante Spivey. Over a year after the incident, it was reported that the case remained unsolved, with the perpetrator or perpetrators still at large. Authorities had appealed to the public for any information that might lead to an arrest, but it appears the case went cold. Those who knew Muhammad stated that although he had a past criminal record, he had been actively involved in his Muslim community and was turning his life around.
